


The Demon     within

by filosomething



Category: Voltron - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Demons, Eventual Smut, Female Pidge, Human!Lance, M/M, Reaper!Keith, Reapers, Smut, Supernatural - Freeform, alluraxshiro, probably sad ending dunno yet, smut with plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 10:24:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11987880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filosomething/pseuds/filosomething
Summary: Keith's existence as a reaper is rather miserable. He is alone and unwanted, seen as a real misfit by the rest of the Reaper Society. Though when he one day recieves a rather strange Mission, his whole life changes. Though the Human he is supposed to Judge and Reap has other plans, and Keith is swept along.Problems stack and the two of them find that they can't keep running away. One day they'll have to face what they're running from and hope they will make it out alive.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So, this is my first fanfiction on this site and I'm kinda still discovering how this actually works. Hope you enjoy :D

 

  

 

Keith walked through the endless hallways of headquarters. The dark red paint kind of hurt his eyes, because for as far as he could see, there was only that damned color.

  
He loved red, but this was something different.

  
The hallways were constructed in such way that they almost formed a maze of some sorts, designed to trap any unwanted visitors. Every so often though, there would be a black, wooden door that led to either someone's house or something like a public space.  
There were library's, dining halls and even swimming pools, but this place had never felt like home.

  
The Reaper Headquarters were quite something. They were safe, and anyone living here was guaranteed an endless life, though it lacked something very important, something that Keith felt he needed to have in order for his life to be complete.

  
Keith's feet mindlessly carried him to the library; he loved to read, and even the dirty looks the other Reapers threw him could not keep him away from the books the Society of Reapers had collected through the centuries.

  
Nothing here aged or withered, and even the books dating back to the Medieval times looked brand new (though perhaps a little old-fashioned).

  
Three years ago, when the rest of the Reapers had given him an especially hard time, Keith had made it his goal to read every single book that rested here on the shelves. They formed an excellent distraction from reality.  
At times when he couldn't read, when he was on a Mission for example, Keith felt even emptier and lonelier than he normally did. That was one of the main reasons he hated Missions.

  
Keith walked round the library, looking for a book. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a siren; someone was sent on a Mission.

  
The second reason Keith hated Missions was because of the killing. He wasn't an assassin or murderer, but a Reaper's job was essentially to, well, reap souls. And people just so happen to die when you reap their souls. That's it.

  
Of course, it still felt wrong to 'kill' people, but if it was a Human's time to go, then who was he to change it?  
No matter how much Keith hated the Society of Reapers, they had some rules that he had to follow. Even if it took a great deal of restrain.

  
His eyes finally fell upon a blue book, not very 'old' looking or very special, just ordinary. It didn't seem like an exciting book, but since he was going to read all books, he might as well read this one now and get it out of the way.  
It turned out to be a book about Humans. Keith had always loved humans; another reason why being a Reaper was hard for Keith, and thus the book turned out to be less boring than he initially thought.

  
Although Keith already knew all the facts that were in the book, he enjoyed it anyway, feeling closer to the Humans by reading it.

  
Laughter suddenly sounded in Keith's right ear.  
"Reading about those filthy Humans again, Kogane?", a fellow Reaper mused, snatching the book out of Keith's hands. Mac wasn't alone, he never was, and his two friends stood behind him threateningly.

  
"Give that back", Keith said through gritted teeth. Mac apparently thought picking on Keith was hilarious, and whenever he could, he'd harass Keith whom could do nothing but sit back and listen.

  
One time, about a year ago, Keith lost his temper horribly and punched Mac square in the face. He got a warning from the Higher-Ups then: do something like that again, and you're out. Mac's father was one of them, and lone Reapers thrown out of the Society got hunted down by Demons, never to survive long. So Keith had no choice but to listen and sit quietly.  
He dug his fingernails into his hand palm out of frustration.

  
"You're a freak", Mac laughed, his two friends laughed too. "Everyone knows Humans are vicious and selfish, filthy animals. But you love them, maybe that's why your family abandoned you-"  
Keith's vision blurred. Not from tears or anything, but just pure rage. One could say his parents were his weak spot. At that moment, Keith had been ready to swing a punch, hurt Mac in unspeakable ways, had it not been for the man in uniform that had just entered the library.

  
"Keith Kogane?", he called, and Keith whipped his head from Mac to the man.

  
"Yes?"

  
"The Higher-Ups want you."  
This was bad news. Had they somehow known he was about to hit Mac? Was he going to he sent away now?

  
With his teeth painfully clenched on top of each other, he shuffled to the door where the Messenger stood, looking awfully formal next to Keith, and he followed him all the way to the Control Room.  
When they arrived there, the Messenger opened the door and pushed Keith in, pulling it closed behind  Keith with such violence that it banged loudly. Keith made a small jump at the unexpected sound.

  
"Kogane", a voice said, coming from across the room.  
It was a circular room, cut precisely in half, dividing it into two, the lower half (where Keith was standing) and a higher half, raised about two meters above the lower half.

  
Keith could not see the face of the cloaked man speaking to him. He was standing on the very edge of the higher half, looking down upon him.

  
The beacons that hung from the wall only reached until where the higher half began, so Keith could see only darkness behind the man that was speaking to him. He knew however that there were others.

  
The Council of Elders, or commonly called the Higher-Ups, where the brain of the Reapers. They controlled everything and everyone. If someone did not obey, they responded with exile or even death. Their punishments were something that should be truly feared. Keith could only guess what they had in store for him.

  
"We have a mission for you."  
Keith's mouth dropped to the floor. A Mission, no punishment?  
Even assuming that they didn't know he was planning on punching Mac in the face, why did they call him here to tell him he had a mission?

  
Normally, Reapers were informed by the head of their department that they were part of whenever they had a mission. Which department you belonged to depended on how good you were, since some souls are harder to Reap than others.

  
And Keith, well.. No one denied he had talent, he was practically good at anything he did, but he wasn't liked by most other Reapers, and his reputation as trouble maker really wasn't favorable. Long story short, he got as little missions as possible and was therefore inexperienced as fuck. So why was he called here to be told he had a mission when literally anyone would be more fit for a Mission that came directly from the Higher-Ups?

  
The man threw a file down. It looked rather thin and the outside was black. He said nothing else, so Keith took that as his cue to take the file and read it.

  
It was a standard file really, apart from it being so thin. A summary of a Human's life, some info about his family, and the date and time of his scheduled Reaping.

  
"May I ask, why?", Keith then carefully asked. He could no longer contain his curiosity. What was so special about this Human?

  
"Have you ever heard of an In-Between?", the man asked in response. Keith's eyes widened with shock. No way. "Your expression tells me you have. Well, ever since the creation of Humans, we Reapers have taken great care of the Human souls, Reaping them when ready. The Myth of the In-Betweens is about as old as our organization, mysterious individuals whom are neither Good nor Bad, the only one's of their kind to be in between right and wrong." The man paused for a moment.  
"Because they are neither good nor bad, we cannot simply send them to heaven or hell. They are extremely difficult to Judge and Reap, it is almost as if they are immune to us.  
We of the  Council of Elders have carefully hid their existence for hundreds of years, but now one has appeared. For the first time in centuries, there is another In-Between. And we want you, Keith Kogane, to judge him."

  
This was a joke, a cruel joke. There was no way they could send someone like him on a mission like this.

  
Keith had always thought that a challenge was fun, but this was impossible, this was no challenge, this was an execution. He didn't dare think about what would happen if he were to fail..

  
"You get two weeks to Judge and Reap him. You'll be sent out first thing tomorrow. Goodbye."  
The Messenger had come back without Keith hearing him, and before he knew it, the man had thrown him out of the circular room, back into the dark red hallways. The file was thrown out after him.

  
A mission normally consisted of three stages, to be preformed in a week or so leading up to someone's scheduled Reaping Date, a specific time and day on which they will die.

  
Stage one was reading the file and observing the target in question, gathering as much information as possible.  
Stage two was Judging whether the person deserved to live a little longer or not.  
Stage three was deciding that, if the target in question did not deserve to live a little longer, whether he or she should go to heaven or hell and Reap their soul accordingly.

  
Keith normally only had trouble with stage three, the 'killing' of his target. But it he was going to Judge and Reap an In-Between..  
In-Between's were something out of place in the real world, and they belonged better in children's bedtime stories. It was weird that they actually existed, walking around.. breathing..

  
Keith took the file and stood up, patting the dust off of his clothes. He opened the file, looking once more at the In-Between.  
Lance McClain, the name read.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A rather short chapter this time, kinda a filler really, but oh well.

 

 

 

That night, Keith couldn't sleep. He kept twisting and turning, trying to get comfortable but to no avail. To be fair, his bed wasn't really of great quality, it was way too slim and rather hard to his back, but Keith figured that that had nothing to do with the racing of his heart and the adrenaline in his veins.

Every once in a while, he would be startled by the sound of a siren somewhere far away. He had no idea how big Headquarters actually was. But tomorrow, he'd by sent away and hear that same sound, although a few times louder perhaps. After tomorrow, he might never hear that siren, or see this place again. Thinking about the mission gave him a very unpleasant feeling in his stomach. Keith turned on the lamp on his bedside table, and sat upright, rubbing his hands into his face.

It had been about ten years since he'd come to live here due to certain circumstances. He had been so young then, clueless, parentless and so naive, unaware that hell was probably better than where he was now. In those ten years, Keith had not spent longer than a day in the Human World, he simply refused to, and now, he was going to be sent there for at least two weeks, observing a Human and Judging him. And not just any Human, an In-Between.

"Lance McClain, I'd gladly kill you if that meant all of this was a dream", Keith mumbled out-loud to himself, jokingly. He had no plan, no idea of what to do, and was at this point seriously considering just winging it.

Though his feet carried him out of bed and directly the nearest library anyway, Keith's mind telling him he might find something about In-Betweens that could help him.

Without fully realizing what he was doing, Keith pulled book after book from its shelf, growing more and more impatient and frustrated as time ticked on. Nothing. It was almost morning when Keith realized that even if there was something in the library about In-Betweens he was just not going to find it in time. He laughed, because he never thought he'd ever beg for more time after being granted a nearly endless life.

It was now seven o'clock, the mission was only half an hour away. Keith's eyes felt so heavy, too heavy, but he had to go on, maybe the next book, or the one after that.. A Messenger came for Keith then, the clock bonged once. It was half past seven, and that meant that Keith was now going to the human world.

It was a different Messenger from last time, a girl with long purple hair, and she smiled with what Keith labeled as an 'attempt at being friendly but failing' smile. He appreciated it nevertheless. She led him to the Portal room, a large square room with transportation Portals against the walls every few meter.

The Portals opened a whole into the fabric of the world, allowing Reapers to travel to the Human World to do their jobs. It was a somewhat funny experience to travel through them.

A Portal at the far left turned out to be his, and another Messenger (except one of a very high rank, Keith could tell by the red badge on his chest) stood there waiting for him. He dismissed the girl and activated the privacy shield around the Portal.

Now, Keith had never appreciated being alone with strangers, but being alone with a stranger and not being able to be further apart than just one meter was the worst. They stood across from each other, the Portal in the wall to their lefts.

"Keith Kogane", the man said, and Keith wondered, despite the rising panic within him, wether all fancy officers had to address the lower rank Reapers with their full name.

"Sir", Keith replied, in an attempt to be polite. The man grinned. At the same time, he handed Keith a black backpack and another file.

"My name is William Strange", the man said. "And I am the personal bode of the Highers."

"What do the Higher-Ups want from me now?", Keith immediately asked, forgetting his polite approach. William seemed unimpressed with that, and continued without answering Keith's question.

"I got you a few gifts, some things you'll find might come in handy. In two weeks you are to return here with the soul of the In-Between, if you're not here by then, the Portal will be closed-"

"I know how Missions work", Keith interrupted. "The portal will be closed and I won't be able to return anymore, blablabla. You came to tell me something important, otherwise you could've sent someone else to give me those.. gifts." Keith looked at the backpack, which undoubtedly contained the presents, with a strange form of disgust, but took the bag from William anyway.

"They told me you were sharp", William grinned. "You're right, and what I am going to tell you is of utmost secrecy." He nudged his head to the privacy shield. "Do not - I repeat - Do not lower your guard around the In-Between. They are dangerous, far more dangerous from the Demons Reapers face on normal Missions. The file will tell you what to do."

A bright blue shimmer appeared from the Portal - it was ready for use. Keith swung the backpack over his shoulder. He was really feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins now, almost like electricity. This felt wrong, very wrong.

The mysterious appearance of a legendary In-Between, the fact that they chose Keith out of all Reapers for this mission, and the sudden warning of that William. 

"One last thing Keith", William said. Keith was standing in front of the Portal now, his feet nailed to the ground, unable to move. "Do not believe them. I read your file and know about your pitiful love for Humans, but they are all evil and an abomination. They lie and cheat, and stop at nothing to get what they want. Do not fall for it."

A siren sounded, loud and sudden like a canon shot. Keith leapt forward into the Portal, William's words echoing in his ears. It felt as if his body was stretched and folded, thrown and caught, spinning around endlessly, until he felt something solid beneath his feet again.

 

 


End file.
